Rs 50 lakh looted from cash van in Katihar

PATNA: Unidentified armed criminals looted Rs 50 lakh from a cash van at Sanauli petrol pump under Kadwa police station area at around 2pm in Katihar district on Thursday. The spot is close to West Bengal border.
The looted amount could have been more as the van was carrying Rs 1.1 crore about which the criminals perhaps had no inkling.
Katihar SP Vikash Kumar said, “At least six armed criminals reached the spot as soon as the cash van entered the pump premises to deposit Rs 50 lakh at an ATM kiosk of State Bank of India (SBI) located on the premises.They overpowered the armed security guard of the private firm which deals in cash remittance and looted the money in a bag which was taken outside the van for depositing in the kiosk.”
The SP said the criminals reached the spot on three bikes and immediately decamped with the looted money and no firing took place during the loot.
Police said that it took hardly 90 to 120 seconds to loot the money. “Perhaps they had conducted recce. Incidentally, only one armed security guard along with the driver and three other staff had reached to deposit the cash. Normally two armed guards man the cash remittance,” a police officer said.
He said the cash van had left the SBI branch from Katihar town with Rs 2.22 crore and had deposited money in three ATM kiosks. The incident took place while depositing cash at the fourth one with Rs 1.1 crore lying inside a locked steel truck in the van,” the officer said adding the CCTV camera surveillance system installed on the petrol pump premises was also lying defunct since the last three to four days making things more difficult for police.
He said the gang targeted only the amount which was taken out of the van. The officer said that police have come across CCTV camera footages installed on the retreat route taken by the criminals in which their movements were visible.
“They fled towards North Dinazpur district in West Bengal and police suspect the involvement of criminals from both West Bengal and Katihar in the loot case,” said sources.